A group of women from a diverse range of backgrounds come together at COP 22, Marrakech ~ Women and Gender Press Conference to tackle the issues of our changing environment, as well as encourage women to address the ways in which they are affected by these issues. They demand climate justice and answer questions relevant to the topic.

Panel participants – Ms Bridget Burns (Co-Director of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, and Focal Point of the Women and Gender Constituency at UNFCCC) Ms Gertrude Kenyanje (SWAGEN,Uganda), Ms Simone Lovera (Executive Director of the Global Forest Coalition), Ms Carmen Cabriles (Founder-Coordinator of WECAN) and Ms Kalyani Raj (MIC AIWC, and Focal Point of the Women and Gender Constituency at UNFCCC) from India, talk about the effects that agriculture has on climate change – with specific reference to beef and soy production.

Highlighted here are some of the salient points made by the various speakers during the panel discussion, viz;

> Small holders are not benefitting as much as those who own commercialised farms. Simona Lovera consequently calls for land restoration.
> Monoculture tree plantations and off-setting aviation emissions pose further threats to the environment, which the carbon budget does not cover in terms of the damage that is constantly being created.
> Variations in seasons are a threat to some of our basic needs.
> We are in urgent need of adaption policies that are gender inclusive – women should always have a say with regard to proposed strategies, and their needs should be identified.
> Despite the proposals, we are in need of funding – public investment may solve this issue.
> Kate Calvin calls for a transition that questions underlying economic principles – why do we depend on the exploitation of women’s paid and unpaid labour?
> The public needs to invest in health, education, and renewable energy.
> Redirection of military funds may be vital in our future, as military activities are one of the leading causes of climate change. Money that is being spent on war, could be spent on making peace and taking care of our planet.